Transmodal and logistics system and method

ABSTRACT

A transmodal and logistics method, comprising generating at least one transportation route for shipping a shipment using one or more different transportation modes and at least two transportation providers, and calculating a cost rate associated with the at least one transportation route.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/183,039, filed Jul. 30, 2008, entitled TRANSMODAL AND LOGISTICSSYSTEM AND METHOD, which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 60/962,578, filed Jul. 30, 2007, entitled LOGISTICS MANAGEMENTSYSTEM, the specifications of which are incorporated herein in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The shipment of packages and/or freight is an age-old method oftransporting items from one location to another. Today, packages areshipped using a particular method (e.g., air, ground, rail, ocean, etc.)based on a desired and/or requested delivery date. For example, localdomestic packages are shipped via ground using a truck. In someinstances, a package is shipped using multiple methods of transportationbetween the originating and destination locations and are consolidatedand deconsolidated several times at the various transportation modeinterchange locations before reaching the final destination. However,software solutions are limited and only allow for the manual building ofinter-connected routes when the shipments are transported using multipletransportation modes. Additionally, the software solutions are unable toperform the end-to-end shipment route planning that spans multipletransportation modes and/or providers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic device comprising an embodiment of atransmodal and logistics system;

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of customer criteria for the transmodaland logistics system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of transportation route data andtransportation rating data for the transmodal and logistics system ofFIG. 1;

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate another embodiment of transportation routedata and transportation rating data for the transmodal and logisticssystem of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the transmodal andlogistics method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic device 10 comprising an embodiment of atransmodal and logistics system 100. Transmodal and logistics system 100is configured to identify at least one transportation route for shippinga shipment using one or more different transportation modes and/orproviders. In some embodiments, transmodal and logistics system 100identifies the at least one transportation route based on an originatingand destination location, an available pickup date and time, a desireddelivery date and time, a provider profile, customer criteria, providerrules, and other constraints.

As used herein, “transmodal” is defined as the ability to transportacross multiple transportation modes and/or providers. A “transportationmode” can be any means of transporting and/or shipping a shipment,including, but not limited to, by personal courier, airplane, ground,train, and boat. A “transportation provider” can be any provider whichtransports using a particular transportation mode or a provider whichprovides associated transportation and/or logistics services, such as,but not limited, providing a general storage and/or holding facility forthe shipment, packaging services (e.g., wrapping shipment in foam) forthe shipment, and providing a cold storage holding facility. The“transportation provider” can be the primary provider itself or athird-party provider with which the primary provider has contracted fora particular transportation and/or logistics service.

In FIG. 1, electronic device 10 may comprise any type of portable ornon-portable electronic device including, but not limited to, a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular phone or any other typeportable and/or non-portable electronic device. In the illustratedembodiment, electronic device 10 comprises a user interface 20, aprocessor 30, and a memory 40. Components of electronic device 10 maycomprise hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. In theillustrated embodiment, memory 40 comprises shipping modules 50 and data60. Shipping modules 50 are executable instructions and/or processesstored in memory 40 which are configured to identify at least onetransportation route for shipping the shipment. In FIG. 1, shippingmodules 50 comprise a location validation module 52, a transportationrouting module 53, a transportation rating module 54, a dynamicconsolidation module 55, an intelligent sourcing module 56, and asimulation module 57. Location validation module 52 verifies and/orensures that an originating and/or pickup location and a destinationlocation for the shipment are valid. Thus, location validation module 52determines whether the originating and destination locations can befound on a map and have a corresponding identifiable longitude andlatitude location.

Transportation routing module 53 identifies possible transportationroutes for a shipment based on the originating and delivery locationsvalidated by the location validation module 52. In some embodiments,transportation routing module 52 identifies and strings together one ormore transportation segments, each of which represents a portion of theroute to be traveled in a single transportation route. In someembodiments, each transportation segment is determined based on avariety of criteria, including, but not limited to, the transportationmodes available, the size of the shipment, the provider's licensingcertificates, the provider's skill requirements, operationalconstraints, the provider's rules, the provider's preferences, and thetype of special equipment required to load and unload the shipment.

In the illustrated embodiment, transportation rating module 54calculates the individual and/or total transportation costs associatedwith each provider identified by transportation routing module 53. Insome embodiments, transportation rating module 54 can calculatetransportation costs with a built-in profit margin. In some embodiments,transportation rating module 54 can convert the transportation costsinto another foreign currency.

In FIG. 1, dynamic consolidation module 55 establishes and/or links thecurrent shipment with at least one other shipment to enable aconsolidated shipment at a discounted rate. In some embodiments, theconsolidated shipment is based on the shipments which have similaroriginating and destination locations. In some embodiments, the similaroriginating and destination locations are a location generally havingthe same geographic region (e.g., same city, same zip code, etc.). Insome embodiments, the consolidated shipment is based on shipments havingsimilar originating and destination locations for the entiretransportation route and/or at least a portion of the transportationroute or one or more transportation segments.

In the illustrated embodiment, shipping modules 50 also compriseintelligent sourcing module 56 which identifies a central location toconsolidate multiple shipments that may have a number of differentstarting locations so that a single arrival of the multiple shipmentscan be made at the destination location. For example, shipping module 50may coordinate the shipment of a single product which has multiplecomponents stored at different facilities. In this embodiment, shippingmodule 50 may identify a central location to which all the componentsmay be shipped and then consolidate the multiple components for a singleshipment to an identified delivery location.

In FIG. 1, simulation module 57 enables a provider and/or any other userto run shipment simulations using transportation routing module 53. Insome embodiments, simulation module 57 identifies optimal shippingscenarios and/or sourcing strategies to understand the individualprovider's and/or user's business impact from a timing and costperspective. In some embodiments, simulation module 57 simulates thetransportation routes available for an example aggregate set ofshipments and identifies the costs and potential savings for various“what if” scenarios.

In FIG. 1, memory 40 also comprises data 60 used by one or more ofshipping modules 50 to execute each of shipping modules 50. It should beunderstood that data 60 can be stored in memory 40 in any format,including, but not limited to, an eXtensible Markup Language (XML)database, a relational database, a file, or a list. In the illustratedembodiment, data 60 comprises customer criteria 68, geocoding data 70,provider rules 72, default provider rules 74, transportation route data76, transportation route costs 79, and provider profile data 80. In FIG.1, customer criteria 68 list information that the customer provides whenrequesting a shipment of their respective package. For example, customercriteria 68 may comprise an originating location, a destinationlocation, and a timeframe for which the package is to be delivered.Geocoding data 70 is utilized by the location validation module 52 tovalidate the starting and the destination location. Provider rules 72are the rules and/or criteria established by a particular provider fortransporting particular types of shipments. For example, provider rules72 may specify that, for a small package to be shipped overseas, theshipment must first be delivered to a specified gateway airport to beflown to a destination gateway airport and subsequently delivered bytruck to the final destination. A “destination gateway airport,” as usedherein, is an airport capable of and/or authorized to transport packagesinternationally. As another example, provider rules 72 may indicate thatlarge shipments with certain characteristics (e.g., containing aparticular hazardous material or perishables) be shipped withinappropriate transportation specific containers and/or combined withother appropriate shipments (e.g., ensuring that the hazardous materialis not shipped with other materials which could cause the hazardousmaterial to explode, shipping perishables in containers designed tomaintain a certain temperature and humidity level, etc.). In theillustrated embodiment, default provider rules 74 is a list of defaultrules which are used in place of provider rules 72 if no specificprovider rules are provided. In some embodiments, provider rules 72comprises a list of approved providers for a given geographic region orgeographic lane. A “geographic lane” as used herein is a geographicregion (e.g., a country, a city, etc.) between the originating anddestination location.

Transportation route data 76 comprises data stored after transportationrouting module 53 is executed. Transportation route data 76 comprises atleast one or more transportation routes for shipping a shipment. Eachtransportation route identified in transportation data 76 may compriseone or more segments and/or one or more providers which constitutes theentire transportation route identified by transportation routing module53. For example, one transportation route may comprise ten segments,each of the segments representing a point in between the startinglocation and the destination location. Each of the ten segments may alsohave a different provider who is responsible for the transportation fortheir respective segment. In some embodiments, the segments areoptimally linked together so that one transportation route is formed tominimize cost and time and/or adhere to other key attributes (e.g.,maintain reliability, ensure a particular profit/cost margin, etc.).Each transportation segment typically comprises an originating locationand a destination location, with each representing a pick-up anddrop-off location for a particular provider.

Transportation rating data 79 comprises cost information associated witheach transportation route identified by transportation routing module53. In some embodiments, transportation rating data 79 comprisesinformation associated with each individual transportation segmentand/or the cost of the entire transportation route. In some embodiments,transportation rating data 79 comprises a profit margin or a percent ofprofit margin which can be used to calculate a total cost that includesthe profit margin.

In FIG. 1, provider profile data 80 is a list of information associatedwith each provider. For example, in FIG. 1, provider profile data 80comprises provider coverage area data 81, shipment size data 82,available special equipment data 83, provider services data 84, type ofdelivery data 85, and provider cost data 88. It should be understood,however, that provider profiled data 80 can comprise more or fewer datathan illustrated. Provider coverage area data 81 indicates the area ofoperation for the particular provider. In some embodiments, providercoverage area data 81 indicates the transportation routes,transportation segments, and drop-off and/or pick-up locations for thatparticular provider. Shipment size data 82 identifies the sizes ofshipments in which the provider can transport (e.g., any shipment under500 pounds, shipments having a size less than 24′×24′×24′, etc.).Available special equipment data 83 indicates the types of shippingvehicles provided by and/or utilized by a particular provider (e.g.,flatbeds, straight truck, fifty-three foot (53′) trailer, cargotransporter, commercial airline jet, etc.). Provider services data 84identifies the special services provided by the provider, including, butnot limited to, particular lifting equipment (e.g., fork truck, crane,etc.) and the speed of delivery of the shipment (e.g., same day,overnight, six weeks, etc.). FIG. 1 indicates two types of deliveries 85in which providers are typically categorized: (1) on-demand type 86 and(2) scheduled type 87. An on-demand 86 provider is one which can bearranged generally at any time to provide a particular shipping service.Example on-demand 86 providers include, but are not limited to, acourier, a pick-up and delivery provider, a truckload provider, and achartered airplane. Scheduled 87 providers have a pre-determined and/orpre-set schedule having a particular arrival and/or departure time.Examples of scheduled 87 providers include, but are not limited to, acommercial airline, a bus, a less than a truckload provider, and atrain. Provider cost data 88 includes information associated withshipping a particular shipment based on the other information associatedwith the provider. For example, in some embodiments, provider cost data88 comprises cost information based on the shipment sizes identified inshipment sizes data 82 or available special equipment data 83. In someembodiments, provider cost data 85 may vary based on the coverage areaspecified in provider coverage area data 81.

Thus, in operation, a customer enters shipping information regarding theshipment, such as, but not limited to, the shipment size, the startinglocation, and destination location of the shipment. The information iscaptured and stored by transportation routing module 53 as customercriteria 68. Location validation module 52 then validates the startinglocation and the destination location stored in customer criteria 68.Transportation routing module 53 then references provider profile data80 to identify the providers which can ship the shipment for a portionof and/or the entire distance between the originating location and thedestination location. In some embodiments, transportation routing module53 compares the customer criteria 68 against the provider profile data80. For example, if customer criteria 68 identify that the shipment is alarge shipment, transportation routing module 53 then referencesshipment sizes data 82 and transportation network data 80 to identifythe available providers. As another example, if customer criteria 68identifies a starting location as a residence or a business location,then transportation routing module 53 references type of delivery data85 to identify an on-demand 86 provider to pick-up the shipment fromcustomer location. As another example, if customer criteria 68 identifythat special equipment such as a forklift or a crane is required topick-up the shipment, then transportation routing module 53 referencesprovider services data 84 and shipment sizes data 82 to identify whichproviders have such a service and/or transportation vehicle available toaccommodate a large shipment.

Transportation routing module 53 then generates at least onetransportation route using one or more different combinations ofidentified providers based on customer criteria 68. In some embodiments,the transportation routes comprise one or more transportation segmentsare strung and/or linked together by transportation routing module 53.Transportation routing module 53 then stores the differenttransportation routes as transportation route data 76. Transportationrouting module 53 then applies provider rules 72 or default providerrules 74 depending on whether the provider has a customized set ofprovider rules 72. Provider rules 72 identify any patterns and/orspecific rules that have been established by the providers. For example,in some embodiments, provider rules 72 may indicate that any largepackage must be shipped first by truck and then by boat to anydestination location that has an ocean between the starting location andthe destination location. In this embodiment, transportation routingmodule 53 then adjusts the transportation routes stored intransportation route data 76 based on either provider rules 72 ordefault provider rules 74. In some embodiments, transportation routingmodule 53 may replace each of the providers in each of thetransportation segments and/or transportation routes that do not conformto provider rules 72 with a provider which conforms to provider rules 72or default provider rules 74. In some embodiments, transportationrouting, module 53 may filter the transportation routes, leaving thosetransportation routes which conform to provider rules 72 or defaultprovider rules 74. In some embodiments, transportation routing module 53stores the new transportation routes (e.g., the transportation routesidentified after applying provider rules 72 or default provider rules74) as transportation route data 76. In some embodiments, transportationrouting module stores the new transportation routes as a separatecomponent in data 60.

Transportation rating module 54 then evaluates and/or reviews thetransportation routes identified by transportation routing module 53 andcalculates a cost for shipping the shipment and other specified services(e.g., packaging the shipment with foam, etc.) based on that particulartransportation route. In some embodiments, transportation rating module54 references provider cost data 88 to determine the cost associatedwith each transportation route. In some embodiments, transportationrating module 54 calculates the cost to a particular provider for thatparticular shipment. In some embodiments, transportation rating module54 calculates a recommended cost for which the provider should chargethe customer based on a target and/or specified margin and/or profitamount. The costs associated with each transportation route are storedas transportation route costs 79 and presented to the user via userinterface 20. In some embodiments, transportation rating module 54presents only the lowest cost for transporting the shipment. In someembodiments, transportation rating module presents a portion or all ofthe alternative transportation routes and associated costs thereof forselection by the user.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of customer criteria 68 for transmodaland logistics system 100 of FIG. 1. In some embodiments, customercriteria 68 are the information/data entered by a customer regarding aparticular shipment. Customer criteria 68 are used to determine thetransportation routes and cost rates associated with shipping theparticular shipment. In FIG. 2, customer criteria 68 indicates that JohnDoe's Auto Center has a package which needs to be shipped from 123Midway Avenue, San Francisco, Calif. 94101 to 456 State Street, BeverlyHills, Calif. 90210. The expected delivery timeframe is “same day.” Itshould be understood, however, that fewer or more data may be includedin customer criteria 68.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of transportation route data 76 andtransportation rating data 79 for transmodal and logistics system 100 ofFIG. 1. In the illustrated embodiment, transportation route data 76 andtransportation rating data 79 are illustrated for a single provider whouses several third-party providers for one or more of the transportationsegments for one of the transportation routes. In some embodiments, thesingle provider may transport the shipment for a portion or the entiretransportation route and not utilize the services of a third-partyprovider. In the illustrated embodiment, transportation route data 76and transportation rating data 79 are presented in combination; however,it should be understood that, in some embodiments, transportation routedata 76 and transportation rating data 79 may be presented separately.

FIG. 3 illustrates provider transportation options 300, 310, 320, and330. Each of transportation options 300 through 330 identifies providerservice data 84, transportation rating data 79, transportation routedata 76, and delivery date/time 350. In FIG. 3, provider service data 84indicates the speed with which the shipment is delivered. For example,provider transportation options 300 and 310 are “Same Day/Next FlightOut” delivery speed. In FIG. 3, transportation rating data 79 comprisesa recommended price 360, a cost rate 362, and margin 364. Recommendedprice 360 is the customer's cost for shipping the requested shipmentbased on the actual cost for shipping the shipment (e.g., as reflectedin cost rate 362) and a profit margin identified by a provider (e.g., asreflected in margin 364). Thus, recommended price 360 is the combinationof cost rate 362 and margin 364. Cost rate 362 is the cost for shippingthe shipment using the transportation route illustrated bytransportation route data 76 for each of transportation options 300through 330. Thus, cost rate 362 is the combination of all the costscharged by each of the providers indicated in transportation route data76. Margin 364 is the amount of profit or the desired margin with whichthe provider prefers to operate.

In FIG. 3, each of provider transportation options 300 through 330comprises a different transportation route within transportation routedata 76. For example, in option 300, the first transportation segment ofthe transportation route begins with a ground pick-up from theoriginating location having a zip code of 94101 using a ground transportvehicle G001. Ground transport vehicle G001 travels 21 miles to deliverthe shipment to an airport to be transported by an airline A1 on flightnumber 0895-73G from OAK to BUR for the second transportation segment ofthe transportation route. Upon arrival at BUR, a ground transportvehicle G002 transports the shipment for 14 miles to the destinationlocation having a zip code 90210 for the final segment of thetransportation route. The provider cost of the first transportationsegment is $20.56 United States Dollars (“USD”), the second is $95.63USD, and the final is $18.91 USD. Therefore, the total provider cost is$135.10 USD, as reflected by provider transportation cost rate 362 forprovider transportation option 300.

As another example, in provider transportation option 320, the firsttransportation segment of the transportation route begins with a groundpick-up from the originating location having a zip code of 94101 using aground transport vehicle G004. Ground transport vehicle G004 transportsthe shipment for 10 miles to a drop-off location (e.g., SFO) so that aground transport vehicle G005 can transport the shipment between SFO andLAX for the second segment of the transportation route. In the finalsegment, ground transport vehicle G005 transfers the shipment in LAX forground transport vehicle G006 to travel 12 miles to deliver the shipmentto destination location having a zip code 90210. The provider cost ofthe first transportation segment is $17.70 USD, the second is $23.68,and third is $17.70 USD. The total provider cost is $59.08 USD, asreflected by cost rate 362 for provider transportation option 320.

In Figure, it should be understood that, in some embodiments, the sameprovider can provide one or more of the transportation segments.Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment, each of the routes intransportation route data 76 uses three different providers. However, itshould be understood that more or fewer providers can be used for eachtransportation route, and/or each transportation route may comprise moreor fewer transportation segments.

In FIG. 3, provider transportation option 300 is highlighted and/orselected by a user as the optimal provider transportation option. Inthis embodiment, the customer indicated that the shipment needed to bedelivered the same day. Thus, provider transportation option 300provides the desired delivery schedule for the lowest cost. Therefore,in this embodiment, provider transportation option 300 was the optimalprovider transportation option. It should be understood, however, that adifferent provider transportation option may be selected depending onvarious customer criteria 68 and/or provider rules 72. For example,provider rules 72 may indicate that the route with the largest and/orgreatest margin 364 is the optimal provider transportation option.Therefore, in the illustrated embodiment, provider transportation option310 is the optimal provider transportation option.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate another embodiment of transportation routedata 76 and transportation rating data 79 for transmodal and logisticssystem 100 of FIG. 1. In the illustrated embodiment, transportationroute data 76 and transportation rating data 79 are presented incombination; however, it should be understood that, in some embodiments,transportation route data 76 and transportation rating data 79 may bepresented separately.

FIG. 4A illustrates window 470, FIG. 4B illustrates window 480. Each ofwindows 470 and 480 are illustrated as a graphical user interface (GUI).Window 470 illustrates provider transportation option 400. Window 480illustrates transportation details for each of the transportationsegments (e.g., transportation segments 420, 430, 440, 450, and 460)indicated in transportation route data 76 for provider transportationoption 400.

Regarding FIG. 4A, window 470 illustrates provider transportation option400 having transportation rating data 79, transportation route data 76,and delivery date/time 350. In FIG. 4, transportation rating data 79comprises recommended price 360, cost rate 362, margin 364, and a marginpercentage (“% margin”) 410. % margin 410 is the percentage ofrecommended price 360 which comprises margin 364. Thus, % margin 410 isequal to margin 364 divided by recommended price 360. Thus, in theillustrated embodiment, margin 364 constitutes 23.08% (e.g., $ margin410) of recommended price 360 (e.g., $2,779.73 USD).

Regarding FIG. 4B, the transportation route for provider transportationoption 400 comprises five transportation segments, namely transportationsegments 420, 430, 440, 450, and 460. Window 480 illustrates thetransportation details for each of transportation segments 420 through460. For example, the originating location for the shipment isSingapore. Thus, for the first transportation segment, Singapore Pickupand Delivery (PUD) Service is the provider to transport the shipment for12 miles from the originating location to SHIP1. Specifically, SingaporePUD Service is expected to pick-up the shipment on Saturday (Sat) at16:36 Singapore time (SGT) and arrives at SHIP1's Ocean Carrier Facilityfor a Monday, 08:00 SGT departure time. The cost for transportationsegment 420 is $60.00 USD. The shipment then travels on transportationsegment 430 across the ocean on SHIP1's boat, leaving SHIP1's OceanCarrier Facility on February 18 at 08:00 SGT. SHIP1 then travels for 4hours and arrives at SIN at 12:00 SGT on February 18. Thereafter, SHIP1travels 8785 miles to SPQ, arriving at SPG at 18:00 Pacific StandardTime (PST) on March 3. The cost for transportation segment 430 is $1380.Thereafter, the shipment travels by ground transportation using Land AirLAX PUD Service (LAND02) as the provider for transportation segment 440.Then, for transportation segment 450, the shipment travels by rail usingTRAINI as the provider. For final transportation segment 460, theshipment gravels by ground using ground transportation vehicle G008 toreach the destination location on Sat. at 15:09 Central Standard Time(CST).

Thus, FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an embodiment of transportation routedata 76 and transportation rating data 79 for transmodal and logisticssystem 100 of FIG. 1. It should be understood, however, that more orfewer transportation routes than illustrated may be used to transportthe shipment. Additionally, it should be understood that more or fewerdetails regarding each of transportation segments 420 through 460 may beprovided.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the transmodal andlogistics method. The method begins with block 510 in whichtransportation routing module 53 captures shipment information fromcustomer criteria 68 for transporting/shipping a shipment.Transportation routing module 53 then validates the shipment informationin customer criteria 68 using location validation module 52 (block 520).Transportation routing module 53 then generates automatically at leastone transportation route using one or more different combinations ofproviders based on customer criteria 68 (block 530). Transportationrouting module 53 then applies either provider rules 72 or defaultprovider rules 74 to the generated routes (block 540). Transportationrouting module 53 then adjusts the transportation routes based onprovider rules 72 or default provider rules 74 so that thetransportation routes conform to the respective provider rules 72 ordefault provider rules 74 (block 550). Transportation rating module thengenerates transportation rating information based on the identifiedtransportation routes (block 560). Transportation rating module thenpresents an optimal transportation route and rate for shipping theshipment between the originating and destination locations (block 570),with the method terminating thereafter.

The illustrative embodiment maybe implemented in software and can beadapted to run on different platforms and operating systems. Inparticular, functions implemented by wireless network communicationssystem 100 for example maybe provided by an ordered listing ofexecutable instructions that can be embodied in any computer readablemedium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution systemapparatus or device such as a computer based system, processorcontaining system or other system that can fetch the instructions fromthe instruction execution system apparatus or device and execute theinstructions. In the context of this document a “computer readablemedium” can be any means that can contain, store, communicate,propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with theinstruction execution system apparatus or device. The computer readablemedium for example that is not limited to an electronic magneticoptical, electro magnetic infrared or semiconductor system apparatusdevice or propagation medium.

Therefore, embodiments of transmodal and logistics system 100 enable aprovider to identify the most cost effective method and transportationmeans for shipping a shipment. Furthermore, transmodal and logisticssystem 100 also enables a provider to use a number of differentcombinations of third-party providers and automatically generatetransportation routes based on the different combination of third-partyproviders without user intervention. Additionally, transmodal andlogistics system 100 allows for the incorporation of logistics servicesproviders in addition to transportation providers providing differentmodes of transportation. Moreover, transmodal and logistics system 100enables a provider to establish a set of rules which govern whichproviders to use and the criteria limiting the providers.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for generating a plurality of transmodalshipment routes from a first location to a second location, comprisingthe steps of: receiving by a computer processor shipping data definingrequirements for a transmodal shipment; accessing by a computerprocessor shipping provider data, the shipping provider data havingshipping provider rules associated therewith; determining by a computerprocessor a plurality of segments of the transmodal shipment routeinterconnecting the first location to the second location, each segmentof the plurality of segments selected using the shipping data,transportation modes available, a size of the transmodal shipment, ashipping provider's licensing certificates and skill requirements,operational constraints and equipment required to load and unload thetransmodal shipments, wherein at least two of the plurality of segmentsuse different shipment modes; determining by a computer processor aplurality of shipping providers for providing shipping services on atleast one of the plurality of segments responsive to the shipping dataand the shipping provider rules; generating by a computer processor theplurality of transmodal routes from the first location to the secondlocation from the plurality of segments and the plurality of shippingproviders responsive to a plurality of requirements defined by theshipping data and the shipping provider data, each of the plurality oftransmodal routes having at least two of the plurality of segments usinga different shipping mode and a different shipping provider; determiningby a computer processor a segment cost associated with each of theplurality of segments and a selected shipping provider for the segmentand a route cost comprising a plurality of segment costs for each of theplurality of transmodal routes; and displaying via a graphical userinterface the plurality of transmodal routes and the associated routecost and segment costs associated with the route cost.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising the step of determining by a computerprocessor a geographic position of the first location and the secondlocation.
 3. The method of claim 1 further including the step ofproviding by a computer processor an indication of a best transmodalroute of the at least one transmodal route based upon time.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 further including the step of providing by a computerprocessor an indication of a best transmodal route of the at least onetransmodal route based upon cost.
 5. The method of claim 1 furtherincluding the steps of: receiving by a computer processor secondshipping data defining requirements for a second transmodal shipment;determining by a computer processor a second plurality of segments ofthe second transmodal shipment route responsive to the second shippingdata; and determining by a computer processor a second plurality ofshipping providers for providing shipping services on at least one ofthe second plurality of segments responsive to the second shipping dataand the shipping provider rules.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein thestep of generating the at least one transmodal route further comprisesthe steps of: combining by a computer processor segment data relating tothe transmodal shipment and the second transmodal shipment; andgenerating by a computer processor the at least one transmodal route forthe first transmodal shipment and the second transmodal shipment whereinthe first transmodal shipment and the second transmodal shipment arecombined into a single transmodal shipment for at least one commonsegment of the first plurality of segments and the second plurality ofsegments.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating theat least one transmodal route further comprises the step of simulatingby a computer processor a plurality of different transmodal routes. 8.The method of claim 7, wherein the step of determining a segment costfurther comprises the step of simulating by a computer processor a costfor the plurality of different transmodal routes.
 9. The method of claim1, wherein the step of displaying further comprises the step ofdisplaying data describing each segment of the transmodal route and acost associated with each of the segments of the transmodal route. 10.The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining a segment costfurther comprises the steps of: determining by a computer processor anactual cost associated with a segment; determining by a computerprocessor a profit margin associated with the segment; and determiningby a computer processor the segment cost responsive to the actual costand the profit margin.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step ofaccessing further comprises the step of accessing by a computerprocessor a local database including the shipping provider data.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the step of generating the at least onetransmodal route comprises the step of combining by a computer processora selected plurality of segments of the plurality of segments based uponcost of the at least one transmodal route.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein the step of generating the at least one transmodal routecomprises the step of combining by a computer processor a selectedplurality of segments of the plurality of segments based upon time ofthe at least one transmodal route.
 14. The method of claim 1, whereinthe step of generating the at least one transmodal route comprises thestep of combining by a computer processor a selected plurality ofsegments of the plurality of segments based upon reliability of the atleast one transmodal route.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the stepof generating the at least one transmodal route comprises the step ofcombining by a computer processor a selected plurality of segments ofthe plurality of segments based upon a cost margin of the at least onetransmodal route.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the execution ofthe set of instructions by the general purpose computer configures thegeneral purpose computer to generate the at least one transmodal routeby combining a selected plurality of segments of the plurality ofsegments based upon time of the at least one transmodal route.
 17. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the execution of the set of instructions bythe general purpose computer configures the general purpose computer togenerate the at least one transmodal route by combining a selectedplurality of segments of the plurality of segments based uponreliability of the at least one transmodal route.
 18. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the execution of the set of instructions by the generalpurpose computer configures the general purpose computer to generate theat least one transmodal route by combining a selected plurality ofsegments of the plurality of segments based upon a cost margin of the atleast one transmodal route.
 19. an apparatus, comprising: a processor;and a memory containing a set of instructions for a general purposecomputer; wherein execution of the set of instructions by the generalpurpose computer configures the processor to: receive shipping datadefining requirements for a transmodal shipment; access shippingprovider data, the shipping provider data having shipping provider rulesassociated therewith; determine a plurality of segments of thetransmodal shipment route interconnecting the first location to thesecond location, each segment of the plurality of segments selectedusing the shipping data, transportation modes available, a size of thetransmodal shipment, a shipping providers licensing certificates andskill requirements, operational constraints and equipment required toload and unload the transmodal shipments, wherein at least two of theplurality of segments use different shipment modes; determine aplurality of shipping providers for providing shipping services on atleast one of the plurality of segments responsive to the shipping dataand the shipping provider rules; generate a plurality of transmodalroutes from the first location to the second location from the pluralityof segments and the plurality of shipping providers responsive to aplurality of requirements defined by the shipping data and the shippingprovider data, each of the plurality of transmodal routes having atleast two of the plurality of segments using a different shipping modeand a different shipping provider; determine a segment cost associatedwith each of the plurality of segments and a selected shipping providerfor the segment and a route cost comprising a plurality of segment costsfor each of the plurality of transmodal routes; and display via agraphical user interface the at least one transmodal route and theassociated route cost and segment costs associated with the route cost.20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the execution of the set ofinstructions by the general purpose computer configures the processor todetermine a geographic position of the first location and the secondlocation.
 21. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the execution of the setof instructions by the general purpose computer configures the processorto provide an indication of a best transmodal route of the at least onetransmodal route based upon time.
 22. The apparatus of claim 19 whereinthe execution of the set of instructions by the general purpose computerconfigures the processor to provide an indication of a best transmodalroute of the at least one transmodal route based upon cost.
 23. Theapparatus of claim 19 wherein the execution of the set of instructionsby the general purpose computer configures the processor to: receivesecond shipping data defining requirements for a second transmodalshipment; determine a second plurality of segments of the secondtransmodal shipment route responsive to the second shipping data; anddetermine a second plurality of shipping providers for providingshipping services on at least one of the second plurality of segmentsresponsive to the second shipping data and the shipping provider rules.24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the execution of the set ofinstructions by the general purpose computer configures the processorto: combine segment data relating to the transmodal shipment and thesecond transmodal shipment; and generate the at least one transmodalroute for the first transmodal shipment and the second transmodalshipment wherein the first transmodal shipment and the second transmodalshipment are combined into a single transmodal shipment for at least onecommon segment of the first plurality of segments and the secondplurality of segments.
 25. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein theexecution of the set of instructions by the general purpose computerconfigures the processor to generate the at least one transmodal routefurther comprises the step of simulating a plurality of differenttransmodal routes.
 26. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the executionof the set of instructions by the general purpose computer configuresthe processor to simulate a cost for the plurality of differenttransmodal routes.
 27. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the executionof the set of instructions by the general purpose computer configuresthe processor to display data describing each segment of the transmodalroute and a cost associated with each of the segments of the transmodalroute.
 28. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the execution of the set ofinstructions by the general purpose computer configures the processorto: determine an actual cost associated with a segment; determine aprofit margin associated with the segment; and determine the segmentcost responsive to the actual cost and the profit margin.
 29. Theapparatus of claim 19, wherein the execution of the set of instructionsby the general purpose computer configures the processor to access alocal database including the shipping provider data.
 30. The apparatusof claim 19, wherein the execution of the set of instructions by thegeneral purpose computer configures the processor to generate the atleast one transmodal route by combining a selected plurality of segmentsof the plurality of segments based upon cost of the at least onetransmodal route.
 31. A system for generating a plurality of transmodalshipment routes from a first location to a second location, comprising:a database of shipping providers, each of the shipping providers havingshipping provider rules associated therewith; a processor forimplementing a transportation routing module that determines a pluralityof segments of the transmodal shipment route interconnecting the firstlocation to the second location, the processor configured to: receiveshipping data defining requirements for a transmodal shipment; accessshipping provider data, the shipping provider data having the shippingprovider rules associated therewith; determine a plurality of segmentsof the transmodal shipment route interconnecting the first location tothe second location, each segment of the plurality of segments selectedusing the shipping data, transportation modes available, a size of thetransmodal shipment, a shipping providers licensing certificates andskill requirements, operational constraints and equipment required toload and unload the transmodal shipments, wherein at least two of theplurality of segments use different shipment modes; determine aplurality of shipping providers for providing shipping services on atleast one of the plurality of segments responsive to the shipping dataand the shipping provider rules; generate the plurality of transmodalroutes from the first location to the second location from the pluralityof segments and the plurality of shipping providers responsive to aplurality of requirements defined by the shipping data and the shippingprovider data, each of the plurality of transmodal routes having atleast two of the plurality of segments using a different shipping modeand a different shipping provider; determine a segment cost associatedwith each of the plurality of segments and a selected shipping providerfor the segment and a route cost comprising a plurality of segment costsfor each of the plurality of transmodal routes; and a graphical userinterface for displaying the plurality of transmodal routes and thesegment costs associated with the route cost.
 32. The system of claim 31wherein the processor is further configured to determine a geographicposition of the first location and the second location.
 33. The systemof claim 31 wherein the processor is further configured to determine abest transmodal route of the at least one transmodal route based upontime.
 34. The system of claim 31 wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to determine a best transmodal route of the at least onetransmodal route based upon cost.
 35. The system of claim 31 wherein theprocessor is further configured to determine a second plurality ofsegments of the second transmodal shipment route responsive to receivedsecond shipping data, determine a second plurality of shipping providersfor providing shipping services on at least one of the second pluralityof segments responsive to the second shipping data and the shippingprovider rules, combine segment data relating to the transmodal shipmentand the second transmodal shipment and generates the at least onetransmodal route for the first transmodal shipment and the secondtransmodal shipment, wherein the first transmodal shipment and thesecond transmodal shipment are combined into a single transmodalshipment for at least one common segment of the first plurality ofsegments and the second plurality of segments.
 36. The system of claim31, wherein the processor is further configured to simulate a pluralityof different transmodal routes responsive to a plurality of differentoptions provided to the simulation module.
 37. The system of claim 31,wherein the processor is further configured to determine a cost for theplurality of different transmodal routes.
 38. The system of claim 31,wherein the graphical user interface displays data describing eachsegment of the transmodal route and a cost associated with each of thesegments of the transmodal route.
 39. The system of claim 31, whereinthe processor is further configured to determine an actual costassociated with a segment, a profit margin associated with the segmentand the segment cost responsive to the actual cost and the profitmargin.
 40. The system of claim 31 wherein the database comprise a localdatabase.
 41. The system of claim 31, wherein the processor isconfigured to generate the plurality of transmodal routes by combining aselected plurality of segments of the plurality of segments based uponcost of the plurality of transmodal routes.
 42. The system of claim 31,wherein the processor is configured to generate the plurality oftransmodal routes by combining a selected plurality of segments of theplurality of segments based upon time of the plurality of transmodalroutes.
 43. The system of claim 31, wherein the processor is configuredto generate the plurality of transmodal routes by combining a selectedplurality of segments of the plurality of segments based uponreliability of the plurality of transmodal routes.
 44. The system ofclaim 31, wherein the processor is configured to generate the pluralityof transmodal routes by combining a selected plurality of segments ofthe plurality of segments based upon a cost margin of the plurality oftransmodal routes.